Hello

I know it has been a long time. Last week was kindof crazy. We had to replace our van windshield (it had a crack going through half of it) and then our computer harddrive crashed. So I'm posting from my father-in-law's computer. I was working on two Christmas presents and lost them both. Very bummed!!! But that is what we get for not backing it up. We are going to try and replace our harddrive over Christmas. Anyway...that is why I have not blogged lately. I wish I could post pictures but I'll have to wait until our computer is working again.
The girls are doing well. We are visiting family. We just needed to get away and have a little break (and help). :) We are being very careful.
Olivia and Emma had their early intervention before we left. Emma weighs 8 lb. 7 oz. and Olivia weighs 12 lb. 15 oz. Emma is 21 1/2 inches long. Olivia is 24 inches long. They are both doing really well. Emma ranges from 1/8 to 1/4 in oxygen. Mostly lower but sometimes we lean towards the cautious side. We do not want her burning any calories to breathe and it is really hard to get an accurate reading during the day - she is so active.
I need to make this short but I will write more later.
Love you all!
Merry Christmas!!!!

Note from Olivia Michelle

Gurgle gurgle smile laugh hi this is Olivia Michelle I'm using my middle name so you don't get me I am at Grandpa's computer everyone is asleep except Grandma and me I had my bottle and burped 4 times Grandma clipped my nails so I wouldn't hurt my sister Emma when we play hands hitting each other mostly I hit her but I don't hurt her really it's just play
We had a really long trip we came the safe way by 74 but there were flashing red and blue lights which were sparkling so they made us take a detour so it was a 6 hour trip instead of 3 and i/2 so we did make it but right before we got to Grandpa's Emma pooped and Mommy was between us in the back seat and could hardly take the surprise smell My big sis said " Mom, did you toot?" So after two movies and more we got there through the ice storm

My Dad was a great driver and the passrenger seat beside him was so full of suitcases and Emma's oxygen stuff that the neighbors asked if we are moving and then the McDonald's window person asked if we were moving and THEN the second McD window person asked the same thing!!! My Dad kept answering NO We're going home forCHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!

Grandpa had some chili hot on the stove using the tomatoes that Aunt Evelyn canned and Uncle Charlie grew Thank God for them actually they just came in the back door They were surprised at me I don't know why I guess just because I am VERY ALERT and impressive After all I've been through a lot but Emma has been through more and is 2/3 my size but I adore her anyway

Well Grandma read me The Crippled Lamb about Joshua a lamb and Abigail a cow and the manger scene And we danced in the Living Room to her singing O HOLY NIGHT in a whispered tone cause Loren is asleep in the portacrib there

The Christmas lights are so pretty

Uncle Charlie brought Mommy some New Skin for her cracked finger from washing out my bottles ...


SO MERRY CHRISTMAS all of you Love and hugs and a little bit of spit up but nothing like i used to do Olivia Michelle I'm talking can you hear me?? bye

Successful day...

So (first of all) I really like to start off my sentences with "so"... Don't ask me why. I just do. I think it is because I never get to finish a sentence anymore. What is it with kids?? And the WORST is when you are on the phone. That just screams to bug mommy as much as you can and talk more than that and pull on her and everyone together and let's all cry at once. Solicitors don't call much anymore. And my socialization is so low that I actually want to talk to them. So as I was starting to say...a successful day to me has changed. I used to get up, shower, makeup - the whole nine yards. Pick up toys, iron, laundry, dishes, read books, color, and possibly fit in a nap or get the extras on my to do list done. Now I'm successful if I get a shower before noon, feed, change and dress children, have enough clean bottles to feed the babies, and keep everyone from killing themselves. With Loren in the house, I might as well get up, walk through the house pulling open every drawer and just pulling things out and catapulting them across the room. I'm successful if I can keep her diaper on and if I don't have to fish any toys out of the toilet. I'm successful if I have caught her before she throws valuables away. She has already tried to throw away one of Alyssa's crocs, my cell phone, the remote control, just to name a few. (I just happened to open the trash can to throw something away and I've found them so who knows what else successfully got thrown away). A successful day is if I can keep Loren from smearing food on the wall behind her highchair. A successful day is if I can keep my two oldest from sitting on, squeezing too tightly, or whacking my two youngest with any object including a broom (Loren!). Loren is one of those "silent buy deadly" kids. But she takes the cutest pictures. Alyssa won't let me take any pictures of her. She can read this when she is older and know that it is the reason she doesn't have as many pictures as the other children. So as you look at this picture up above of Loren, just know that there is more behind the cute smile.
A quick update on medical....
Emma continues to do well. Olivia too. Alyssa and Mike had an ENT appointment. Alyssa has one ear with a tube and one with a hole that has not closed. Her ear with the tube is coming out. It is hurting her some but mostly if she gets water in it. She will go back in 6 months. If her hole is still there, they will do surgery to close that. I'm not sure what the plan is for the tube that is coming out. But overall, a good appointment. I was wrong about the date for immunizations. We will have those this Tuesday in Tremont. I'll be glad to get that out of the way. Emma is scheduled to have a head sono and appointment with the neurologist tomorrow morning. We are supposed to get an ice storm tonight so we will see how that goes. The temperature is supposed to be 17 tomorrow so I don't know if I really want to take the girls out in this weather. I'll update you on the results of this week when I get them.
Until I get another break in life to write, take care.

Fabulous

Yes, that is how the NICU doctor said Emma looks....Fabulous!!! What a great visit!!! She weighed 8 lb. 5 oz. (4 weeks ago she was 7 lb. 8 oz.), her length this time was 21 3/4 (last time was 19 1/2), and I don't remember the head circumference but it is bigger. He said even though she is not gaining much "weight", her length is great and indicates good long-term nutrition. He also said her head growth is great and indicates good brain growth. So yea!!! They don't want to see us again until February. That is great!! We talked about weaning her off of oxygen. He would like us try her a little lower. He told us what to look for. It was a great visit!!! This is a picture of my 3 laying on the table in the dr. visit. I had the 3 by myself....thought I might lose it but they actually did really well. They all adored Loren.
We had Alyssa's dentist appointment this morning. I held my breath (thinking of the "treats" we have been allowing her for wearing her patch). It was also a way for me to slowly allow her Halloween candy instead of letting her just eat a ton for a week. We had great news though...no cavities!!!! Another great thing! They also commented on how she was such a good girl. Oh...they also said that she is cutting her 6 year molars. He said one has already come through. She just turned 5 but maybe they come early.
Today was crazy though....amongst the chaos of the appointments. Loren got into the almost empty bag of cheerios and dumped everything (even the powder stuff at the bottom) all over the hard wood floor. Lovely!!! Then she pulled this protector thing off of the back of the fridge. Then she got into some soap and was putting that on her face. Then I went to pack the diaper bag and somehow formula had been dumped all over the bag. Then while I was at the dentist, Mike came to help me with the girls. I couldn't take them all in with me so he sat with them in the van. Well, we overdid the van with the movie being on (the van wasn't on) and the lights were on, the heat, etc. The battery died. So we had to jump that. Again fun. And last but not least....I was feeding Emma in the dr. apt. and she flung her arm and knocked the bottle out onto the floor. The disc slipped and milk flew all over the floor. Other than all that, we had a great day!! : )
So tomorrow is 2 more appointments. Mike and Alyssa will go together to the ENT and check out their ears. I'm concerned about Alyssa's because she has been complaining if the smallest amount of water gets in there (just in one ear). We'll see what they say.
My last "to do" this week is to get the girls their immunization shots on Friday. I haven't figured out how I'm going to do that yet but I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
Well, I must call it a night!

It has been rough...

Sorry it's taken me awhile to write. It has been rough lately. I have been sick for 2 weeks and I finally gave in today and went to the dr. He put me on a z-pack, cough medicine ($53.89)- I didn't get that one, and prescription nasal spray and told me I need to use a humidifier. I guess I have a upper respiratory infection or something. He said he wanted to treat it pretty aggressively. Not the best thing to have with twins with Chronic Lung Disease. Lovely!! I hope the girls do not get it.
So....catch up. Let me start with a little of how my week went. It was not only rough because I was sick but because other stuff kept happening. For example, I went in to get Loren out of bed in the morning. She was standing there with her diaper off - only her shirt on. So she handed me her diaper. And then I saw it - poop all over her sheets. Yep...Good morning Mom!!!! Thankfully she did not touch it or eat it. You have to find the bright sides.
Well, I won't bore you with anymore of that. I'm going to update the medical side of this and then I'm off to bed. I haven't been sleeping much at all. It's hard to sleep when you are hacking your head off.
Emma and Olivia had their 6 month check up. Olivia is doing very well. She has even caught up developmentally. She rolled over this week for the 1st time. She is a whopping 12 lb. 10.5 oz. It was so cute in the office. Both girls were laying on the table just talking away. Very cute!!!
The girls are actually an adjusted age of 3 months. Emma is about the developmental age of 4 months. That is still good. She is ahead of the game. And considering she laid on her back in the NICU for an extra 2 months, she is going to be a little further behind. Plus she is much smaller and therefore not as strong as Olivia. But she is still doing well. She talks and smiles and does about the same as Olivia. She is just not as strong in the arms holding herself up and she hasn't rolled over. She'll get there. Growing will help.
Which brings us to her growth. Since she has had a cold, she has not picked up any weight in a week. Not great! She actually lost a little. She weighs 8 lb. 3.5 oz. This is where a cold takes affect on her. She works very hard to breathe and burns calories doing that. She is up in oxygen and dealing with bloody noses very often. She is eating great and has still not puked so that is good. We have a NICU appointment next Tuesday so we'll see how that goes. Please pray that she will get over this cold. That we all will.
I'm looking to switch urologists. I haven't heard anything about my kidneys and I know I don't want this treatment for the next 4 years or however long they want to monitor me. They go through the trouble of doing a Cat Scan and blood work and then don't call. Maybe I'm high maintainence but I'd like to know what is going on with my body. When I've called they have acted like I was an inconvenience and they tell me they'll get back with me and then they don't. Yep, my time is too precious for these games.
I think that is all the news I have. I have 5 dr. appointments next week. It will be a little rough. Alyssa has a dental and ear appointment, Mike has an ear appointment, the NICU one for Emma and immunizations for both girls. We'll see if I can pull it off. The following week I have a head sono for Emma. I'm not sure what else. I try not to look at the calendar until I have to.
Have a great night!!!

Daddy's view...

This is me...Bethany. Mostly I'm the one blabbing away on this and you don't hear much from Mike. This is a part of an email from him to another person with part of his thoughts which I love to hear and thought you might too. Enjoy...


The journey we've been on has been quite a ride, with God pulling, twisting, and stretching us in many ways. I liken it to the art of blacksmithing. The blacksmith takes a form of metal and sticks it in the fire embedded in the red hot coals until it reaches a point where the metal can be shaped with a hammer against an anvil. This process of sticking the metal in the fire and pounded with a hammer is repeated over and over again until the metal is shaped to the blacksmith's liking. In metallurgy, when metal is heated and pounded impurities tend to come to the surface and are easily flaked off the surface as scale when cooled. Another interesting thought is that the same metal that started the shaping process is still there, but now is structurally different at the metal grain level, and it's now a little more purified than before.

We do appreciate your prayers. Indeed, Praise the Lord!! One thing we've learned on our journey is to keep faith and God will take us where he wants us, and in the mean time make us the people he wants us to be (as long as we allow him to). That doesn't mean it will be an easy road, but the end result will honor God.

Happy Thanksgiving

Didn't want to tease you with just a few pictures.....so here they are.




















We do have a lot to be grateful for. It has really been a challenging and rewarding year. Mostly, I'm grateful for what God has taught us this year. That He does speak to us and He does care about everything. That He wants us to lean on Him and give him control of our lives. That He loves us very much and wants the best for us. And that prayer is powerful. I'm grateful that our lives and plans were in His hands and He has walked with us every step of the way. I'm grateful for the four beautiful girls that we tuck in bed every night. I'm grateful for my amazing husband that has been so supportive and thoughtful to me. I'm thankful for our families that have stepped in and been there for us this year. I'm thankful for our church family and neighbors that have helped us through. And I'm thankful for all the doctors and nurses we have met along the way and helped our girls survive. We have a great deal to be thankful for. Sometimes it takes almost losing someone to realize how fragile life is and to appreciate the life and health we do have. As hard as it was this year, I'd do it all again to have these precious lives here with us.

I haven't updated in awhile so I'll just start throwing things at you.
Emma Grace is 8 lb. 5.6 oz. (She was 7 lb. 8 oz. two weeks ago).
Olivia Michelle is 12 lb. 7 oz. Growing like crazy!!
Both are getting over a cold (not RSV) that has been in our house for over a week now. Lovely! It started with Loren with a fever and then a cold and next the twins got a cold and then myself and Alyssa and then Mike. So we have gone through the chain. The worst parts are Emma's bloody noses. This dry weather is really taking a toll on her along with the cannula. The cold isn't helping but it should be better once we get past it.
Emma is doing well over all. The things we will be watching and working on is her calcium level and her nephrocalcinosis (calcium buildup in kidneys leading to kidney stones). Everything else seems to have resolved. We'll just keep getting weight on and hoping to get the oxygen down. That has not been better since her cold.
Good news - Olivia is off her machine!!! Yes, no cords attached. It has been wonderful!!! Just in time for Thanksgiving!! There is a picture of the machines except for Emma's oxygen. Not all the cords are plugged in but you have an idea of how many cords we deal with daily. We try the hardest to keep the kids from playing jump rope with them.
What else....oh...my results from my Cat Scan. I have had a very frustrating time finding out any information about the results. I've talked to a nurse and that is it. The dr. has been out and can't speak with me for another week or so. What I've understood from her is that I have cysts on both kidneys. He called it a tumor, she called it a cyst. Don't ask me...don't know. But anyway, on my left kidney there is a cyst measuring about 7 cm by 7 cm - about the size of a racketball. There is calcium buildup along with kidney stones. On the other kidney is a cyst measuring 1 by 1 cm. Not so big and nothing else. I'm hoping to get more information because I don't feel like I really know what is going on and I'm being told different things. If this is something that we'll have to continue to follow for years, I want more info. than what I'm getting and I won't hesitate to switch doctors. But I'll wait and see if he calls or I'll call and see if I can talk to him. It sounds like the main thing is they will have to monitor the sizes because they could get big enough that they could start affecting my other organs and then they would have to go in and remove or drain it. So if I'm looking pregnant at any point - I'm not. It's just a big cyst. Hee hee!! I'll fill you in if and when I get more information.

We had a great Thanksgiving with my parents coming first and then Mike's parents coming. We put up our tree and lights and had a great time! Just in time for this beautiful snow! We watched the Colts win!!! Yea!!! We missed everyone but it was very relaxing. I will add pictures to this post tomorrow but I'm exhausted and am headed to bed. Much love to you all!

Good night!!
Bethany

Light at the end of the tunnel....

So I definitely think we are seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. Emma is gaining weight and eating like a champ. It is so great to see the result of the nutrition. She is really filling out. Her hair is growing. Her nails are growing. She is smiling and feeling much better. Her level of dehydration in one week went from 46 to 30. She is down in oxygen. If she does well this week, we will be ready to wean her off of oxygen starting Friday. We'll have to see how she is doing at that point. We have her weight check on Wednesday. I'm definitely anxious to see that reading. The girls will have their second synagis shot on Friday. These shots are $4,000 a month - all to prevent them from getting a cold. They will have 3 more shots after this - 5 total for the season. Technically, the season will last about 2 more months but insurance will not help out with that.
I'm taking the girls to the hospital today to get their monitors downloaded at the sleep lab. Hopefully, we will get Olivia off of hers. That would just be wonderful!!!!!! To be able to carry around a child without a machine. Definitely nice!! For Christmas, I would love to have both my daughters off machines and oxygen. Wouldn't that be a nice Christmas present? It could happen.
I'm loving watching our kids grow and learn. Fun and challenging all in one.
I'm going to get going because I have a house to clean, children to feed and diapers to change. Can you believe I have 3 in diapers? It hit me yesterday that I gave birth to 3 children in 13 months. My friend had a 10 lb. baby boy in September. Amazing!!! My biggest was 7lb. 6.8 oz. My others were 4 lb. 11 oz., 2lb. 9.4 oz., and 1 lb. 6 oz. Go Girl!!!

Love you all tons!!
Bethany

Good News!!!

The good news is that Emma's lab results came back and everything has normalized except the calcium which could take awhile. This is great news!!!
I did a little research last night on lasix and the side effects were right on with Emma. Her "reflux" wasn't reflux. It was nausea and vomiting (side effects). Dehydration, losing electrolites, renal complications (kidneys), etc. So we definitely hit the spot. I'm just soooooo thankful we didn't go ahead with the g-tube and still have all these problems. And then find out this is the problem when we had put her through the surgery and back on the vent. etc. So Praise God!!!

8 pounds!!!!

So Miss Emma....in one week.....has gained 8 oz. This is wonderful!!! We are down to one lasix a day and improving by the millions. I'm now seeing things that I now know were signs of dehydration and/or lack of nutrition. For example, her nails are now starting to grow. Before they were splitting down the middle and falling off. Her dry cough (it sounds like a dry heave which leads her into puking) is gone. She no longer pukes and I've even stopped her zantac. She is night and day different. Thank the Lord again for showing us and leading us to another answer. Friday we will be done with the Lasix. We then go a week and make sure there are not any changes. Then we start her off oxygen as long as things are still good. They emphasize only making one change a week. So we'll see. Next week we will have a weight check along with the girls 6 month checkup. Which means shots are coming up too. I need to look at the calendar for that. We did a bunch of lab work today and probably won't get the lab results until tomorrow. We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. This will be a great Thanksgiving!!!!
Thanks for all the prayers!!! They have definitely been needed and heard!!!
Love to you all!
Bethany

Colts Rule!!!

Wow!!! So I have some catching up to do. First of all, Mike and I took a last minute trip to IN. I haven't been out since last April and that was for surgery in Cincinnati. Before that, it has been since probably January. It felt great to get out of the state for a little bit!!! Yes we took all four girls. The trip there was crazy. Loren was the least happy. But we made it. We had a very relaxing Saturday. Sunday Mike and I went to the Colts game in their new stadium. AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks Stac and Mark!!!!! We love you!!!
It was again great to get out by ourselves for the second time and just enjoy each other. Awesome game!!!!

Both sets of grandparents split the girls up and watched them for us. Thank you!!!

Emma is doing really well. We have weaned her down to once a day on her Lasix and she is doing great!!! Her oxygen has come down and she is now consistently at 3/16. I just brought her down further to 1/8 because she is satting 99/100. So we'll see what this week brings. We have a weight check on Wednesday along with blood work this week. I know she is doing better. There have been so many changes.

Her soft spot is not sunken in. She is much more alert and happy. She is not sleeping all the time. She is not puking. She is hungry and is eating great!!! I'm truly amazed!! I'm excited for the doctors to see her again. If she keeps this up and is gaining weight then I'm going to cancel her GI appointment. We'll just hope and pray and see.

On the up....

Well, Emma has taken off. She is doing very well. She has not been puking at all. Her appetite has increased tons and she is more alert and you can just tell she is feeling better. Her in-home nurse stopped by real quick today to drop off a swing and I told her what had happened. She decided she wanted to weigh her. I was a little nervous to see. She had weighed her two weeks ago and she was 7 lb. 6 oz. on her scale. Today she was 7 lb 11.6 oz. That is HUGE!!!! That means that she has gained 5 oz. in two weeks. It's also big because her scale always weighs Emma the smallest between the 3 scales she uses. There is the NICU scale (where she always weighs the most - this is part because they leave all the belts and wires on). Then you have the pediatrician scale - this is the middle scale. Then the nurse's scale (weighing at our house) is always the least. For example, I would have an appointment at the peds. and she would weigh 7 lb. 3 oz. and the next day we would weigh her at home on the nurse's scale and she would be 7 lb. 1 oz. So the fact that in the NICU on Tuesday she weighed 7 lb. 8 oz. (with her belt and wires on) and then 7 lb. 11.6 oz. with everything off. Huge!!! As you can tell I'm a little excited!! I just really see a difference in her. I'm journaling everything - how much she eats, pukes, the times, everything. So now we just have to keep an eye on her oxygen and make sure that she doesn't need to go on diurel, which she might. We'll see...
Well, I'm off to bed. Later!!!

A what a big puzzle!!!

This little Emma has been such an amazingly complex puzzle!!!! Such complexity in such a small person. As much as I love finding problems and then solutions, I think I've had my fill for life.
So here goes...
Yesterday was her cookie swallow. To sum it up, she is stronger. She is not aspirating nectar (obviously) that is what she is on now (with the thickened milk with rice cereal 1:1). So they tried her with a honey consistency (this could lessen her down to a thickened milk of a 1:2 ratio). She did not aspirate that. However, she did penetrate it pretty deeply - almost to her vocal chords. She did aspirate straight milk. What this all means is that we could lessen the thickness of her milk but we do risk her aspirating. On a personal note - now that I've found a formula that doesn't make her puke, I'm not ready to change anything. But we knew we needed to talk to the doctors today to discuss her plans.
So today was her NICU follow-up. Mike and I were both in shock when they put her on the scale and she had lost an ounce (in 4 weeks!!!!). She has barely puked up anything in a week!!!! How is this happening!!!
Well, the doctor came in and we started out talking about a g-tube. He said we can start out with doing some medical therapy with the GI doctor and see if we can get the reflux under control. Then the next step would be a G-tube. But then we were talking about how much she is drinking and how she has barely thrown anything up in a week. So that got our wheels turning. Maybe we are looking at the wrong thing. What really made his wheels turn was when he listened to her lungs. He said they are clear. I said I know. He said have they always been clear. I said yes. So everything shifted at that point. If there is no fluid on her lungs, and she is on such a harsh diuretic, then what are we getting rid of??? She is basically becoming dehydrated. She is getting rid of all her fluid in her body. So this goes back to make sense of other problems.
Lasix is increasing the calcium in her.
Lasix is depleting the electrolytes in her.
Lasix is probably why she is not gaining any weight.
The dehydration is not helping her calcium buildup in her kidneys.
So the plan is now....that we will still see a GI specialist to rule out the reflux problem and just see what is going on. But most importantly, the game plan is to get her off her lasix!!! We have started the weaning process but it will take a couple of weeks. If I see that she needs more oxygen, I'm to call the doctor and we will probably start her on some diarel (a different diuretic). We will repeat the blood work next week and see if it has made a difference. If it has, I'm sure we will then do another sono of her kidneys (we haven't done one in a month and a half). I'm praying this is the problem. We really need to get this under control. We have a month to do that. We don't want to go any later because we don't want to hurt/affect her growth for the future, especially her brain development.
Please keep us in your prayers that we, the doctors and us, will figure this puzzle out. The last thing we want to do is hurt her and if a g-tube is the way to go, sign us up. But if this is the solution, then that would be awesome!!
I know this is complex. After Alyssa I felt like I earned my nursing degree. After Emma, I think I earned my white coat. : )

By the way, the weights are...
Olivia....11 lb. 8 oz.
Emma....7 lb. 8 oz.

4 pounds different. Crazy!!
The girls will be 6 months old on the 22nd of this month. They are beautiful and so sweet!!!

Last Saturday we had two amazing ladies come and watch all our children for us. As a bonus, they were nurses. It allowed Mike and I to get out of the house together and have the whole day. It was so incredible. We saw a movie and got almost all our Christmas shopping done. We just walked and talked and ate. The food was warm and we didn't have to share. We just really enjoyed the day. It was much needed and our girls had a great time!!! What a treat!!!! Thank you!!!

Tomorrow I go in for blood work. I am having a CAT SCAN done on the tumor on my left kidney on Friday. They want to see if it has gotten any worse or ruptured or if it is bleeding. This will also tell them exactly what this tumor is. I'm not worried about anything but I will keep you informed of what I find out. I would like to know how big "massive" is though. Just how many pounds could I loose if we got ride of that? Hee hee.

Well, have a great night! I'll keep updating when I can find a minute to breathe. :)
Love,
Bethany

p.s. I'll try to post pictures next time.

Quick update...

Emma had her eye exam on Thursday. Both eyes are mature finally!!!! Yea!!! One more thing off the check list.
Her urine test came back showing bacteria. They said this is normal with babies wearing diapers but they are going to play on the safe side and treat her with amoxicillin for 7 days.
She has not spit up in 4 days now. Yea!!! This formula is working and we are back to Zantac. Some of you have mentioned if we have thought about getting a nissen. We met with the GI dr. awhile back and discussed the g-tube and the nissen. At this point, as long as the doctors are fine with her progress, we do not want to do the nissen. To solve the reflux for a short time with a long-term result of never being able to vomit or burp...we're just not ready for that. She is still growing and coming down in oxygen. We do know it is an option if it comes to that. Thanks for the info.
Emma is currently down to 1/8th of a liter. We have 1/16th, then 1/32nd and then we are off. We are not pushing her because we do want her to grow and not struggle to breathe. But when she is satting high, we lower it. We are just letting her lead the way.
We are repeating the cookie swallow to see if she is still aspirating liquid. Part of me doesn't want to do this because what we are doing works finally - eating wise. However, her kidneys need more water/liquid if we can so we'll see what the outcome is.
The endocrinologist called 2 days ago and was fine with all of her results. He said the sodium and magnesium and a couple other things are high but he is pretty sure it was because she is on the powder formula. I told him that I just switched it back to liquid the day before. We are going to give her some time and then repeat the blood work. He seems very comfortable with her. Also, the ionized calcium that was high in the hospital is normal now. That is great!! And her thyroid is normal. So we are looking better for sure in this area.
Now we focus on her kidneys and see what we can do here. Her cookie swallow is Monday and her NICU follow-up appointment is Tuesday. She is starting to pick up her weight so that is great!!!
Well, I'm hitting the sack. Definitely tired!!!
Love to all!!!
Bethany

Prevacid

It's me...again.
So I don't think the prevacid is working any better.
She took her last pill of that today. So I'm planning on going back to Zantac tomorrow. She is back on Enfacare and they are the "ready to use" kind, not the powder and she seems to be holding things down better. I really think the consistency is different. We bought a case, which is $89 and it lasts about 6 days. Holy cow expensive!! At this rate, we will definitely be standing on the corner with a mug for change. J/K. We will need to continue this for at least 7 more months. I wonder if this could be considered flex spending next year???
Anyhow...for a "term" baby, reflux usually peaks at 4 months and then gets better. Technically, her adjusted age is 3 months. So I guess that means it could get worse this next month and then start to get better. I personally don't think it could get worse. :)
We are doing pretty good here. I have an angel of a neighbor who is going to watch my girls tomorrow so that I can go work out. I've just learned that I need to give myself breaks. Easier said than done - I will say that. I'm getting more sleep at night, it's just not good sleep for the time being. Hopefully that will get better. I still don't know how to get time to myself in the morning or night without burning the candle at both ends. My girls are usually up at 5:00 a.m. and go to bed at night around 10:00 p.m. So it is not like I can get up any earlier or stay up later to get stuff done. It is definitely challenging to figure out what works.
Today I was explaining to Alyssa that I was going to vote and how that works. She said, "Mom, I voted today at preschool". "I voted for the color pink. And then I voted for shapes". "I chose a heart". She said green won but she was sad because she wanted pink to win. She said she wanted to choose pink, blue and purple but her teacher said you can only choose one. She said there were 3 sticks in the green. I thought that was pretty cute. Loren fell asleep in her swing out back. Emma and Olivia are smiling more and cooing. It is very sweet!!
We have decided to not go anywhere for Thanksgiving and Christmas. As hard as it is, we know we have to protect Emma and Olivia from all germs. We just can't take that chance. We have to live with the outcome and the risk is too great. They have compared their lungs to the immune system of AIDS patients. Their lungs are lacking that immunity and won't be able to fight it off if they were to get sick. They have advised to stay indoors as much as possible. It will definitely be different for the holidays but still good.
I must get to bed. Love to you all!!
Bethany

Urologist

We had a long visit at the hospital today. We went for Emma's Urology appointment. While we were there, we also downloaded Olivia's monitor. She is doing well and I think we will be able to get her off of the caffeine and see how she does. If they decide to take her off, then she will need to go 2 weeks without any alarms for them to take the monitor away. That alone would be awesome!!! These wires are making us crazy!!!! It makes it hard for me to walk around the house at all with either baby. Slings and carriers just don't work at this point. If we could get rid of Olivia's monitor, I could walk around with her when she needs calming. Plus, it would eliminate us getting the girls tangled up together. I find out that plan on Thursday.
Back to Emma....She had to have a catheter for a urine sample. Hate that!!! She wanted to send me home with a Foley cath. and do a 24 urine sample but then she decided that they could just see how these test results come back before having me do that. They did blood work. She got stuck 3 times to try to get enough blood - one in each arm and one in the hand. I hate watching them poke and then move it around to try to get more out. Torture to watch!!! Poor little Emma. :(

So talking to the doctor about Emma. She has Nephrocalcinosis. No clue if I spelled that correctly. This is the buildup of calcium in her kidneys that will lead to kidney stones if not treated. So our treatment...first off, she wants to switch her to diarel and take her off of lasix. I told her that they wanted her on the lasix to decrease the calcium levels. She said the lasix actually increases the calcium. Go figure!! So hopefully we'll get that switched. The other thing is she wants to increase her water input. I told her about the cookie swallow and that she can only have things that are thickened. So she is going to talk to the doctor. We might repeat the cookie swallow and see if her muscle has strengthened at all. So we'll see what happens. She is supposed to call me tonight and let me know the plan.

While we were in there, she asked if there is any family history of kidney stones. I told her about my kidney tumor. I told her all I knew was that he said I didn't have cancer and that they would watch it. She gave me some literature on what I have. It is called angiomyolipoma. It is a benign, non-cancerous kidney tumor containing smooth muscle. Often treated by nephrectomy. She said there is a very small chance that it would turn into cancer but it is possible. But still a very small chance. She said the bigger complication is just that it is a big tumor and it will be an annoyance. She said that it could rupture and have excessive bleeding. She said any trauma or high blood pressure could make that happen. I called today to see when my cat scan is scheduled. It will be either this month or next. I did learn more today about my situation than I did with my doctor. Too bad she is a pediatric doctor or I would switch. : )

So Emma and Olivia are both sleeping after a long day. We have two more appointments this week. Thursday morning is Emma's eye exam. Please pray that her left eye is mature. It would be so nice to not go back for 6 months. We also have a pediatrician appointment to see how Emma is doing and she if she needs any changes made.
Much love to you all!
Bethany

Check up

Well... we had a really good visit at the pediatrician. Loren is in about the 50th precentile in weight, height and head circumference. Her visit was very easy.
At Emma's last weight check there, she weighed 7 lb. 5 oz. Today she weighed 7 lb. 8 1/2 oz. Definitely could be gaining more weight. We talked about her reflux and how she was eating great but not keeping everything down. So we are stopping the zantac and switching her to previcid. I'm very hopeful that this will help. She will also be on preemie formula for a year. That has higher calories and has some extra stuff that she needs. I hate that it is so expensive but it will be worth it for her health. It was great just to get started in trying to fix this reflux so she can gain more. She is doing well otherwise. I hope this next week she picks up some more. Her next visit is next Thursday along with her eye appointment that morning.
I'm calling it a night. I'm tired. Good night!

Letting go...

Why is it that we have so much trouble letting go of trying to control every aspect of our lives? I have really struggled to write this past month because I feel like I have nothing positive to say. Just wreaking with discouragement and negativity. Focusing on the "I can't", feeling like I need to fix another problem, feeling like my life is over. These discouraging voices in my head. Ugh!!! I just couldn't kick it. And yet talking to God meant that I would have to give up control which would only give me peace and make me realize that He is in control and I don't have to fix it. And yet the stress is overwhelming. Needing to prove that I can take care of my child and scared that if I don't succeed, she will be taken from me and put back in the hospital. All the pressure boiling up like a pot of boiling water and yet I'm the frog that has been in there from the beginning just getting used to it getting hotter and hotter so I don't jump out and then I'm gone.
Mike and I had a talk two nights ago and I could just tell that I was holding on and wasn't going to let go. But something in that conversation was releasing. Maybe it was realizing/accepting that it is going to be overwhelming and hard but I had a choice on how to deal with it. Some of it was as simple as him saying let them cry for 30 more seconds while you rinse out the bottle I made their milk in so that it doesn't pile up later and overwhelm me. Maybe it was hearing that he was feeling some of the same but he wasn't letting it overtake him like I was. And maybe it was just a good kick in the butt telling me to suck it up. I don't know....but I started to feel better.
My focus changed back to thanking God for these precious miracles that were not even supposed to be here. Appreciating how far they have come in weight instead of begging them to gain more. Slowing down!!!!!! I don't know when the last time was that I have taken the time to just sit and watch my kids. I love talking to Alyssa and learning about her day and what she learned at preschool. She is stuck on the number 79 right now. Don't know why...but it is so cute. She asked yesterday how many degrees it was outside. She said, "Is it 79?" I said that it was probably more like 42 degrees. We drive in the car and she asked how many birds are on the electric wire. She says "Are there 79 birds?" Those are the things I need to think on. Loren loves to fall in your arms after you change her diaper and she is standing on the changing table. I love to see the trust she has for me to catch her. She has learned - I don't know where she learned it - to head butt. Yep, she started doing it with Mike the other night. She laughs and laughs. Olivia and Emma just want to be held. They just want us to hold their fingers. Actually, Emma doesn't want you to hold hers, she wants to hold yours. She'll pull away. Like she still wants to be in control. These precious gifts God gave Mike and I. These are the things I should be thinking on. It says in His word, "Whatever is good, whatever is lovely, pure, noble....think on these things.
Why would I not want God in the pilot's seat? Why would I want my human self to take control? Are you kidding me? So I'm letting go....again. I think it is something I have to continue to hand over because I am human and sometimes that takes over. But God is so faithful to stand there and say "Are you done trying?" Why don't you let me take the wheel? Matthew 11:29-30 says, "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find REST for your souls. "For My yoke is EASY and My burden is LIGHT." I'll take that. God has a plan for me, my husband and my children and I will rest in that. I will take one day at a time, one minute at a time, and I will slow down to take in all that He has given us.
I believe we go through these hard times because God is trying to teach us something. For me, this is one of them.

Don't get too excited..

Emma is still on her nasal cannula. We just took some pictures when we switched it out. Her sats pretty much stayed at 94 for awhile before they dropped to 89. I put it on when it got there. I wanted to show you what she looked like with that stuff off. Enjoy the pictures!
There is so much I want to catch up on...but so little time. I'll do my best.
Things are going well today. The roller coaster is definitely still in effect. I'm trying to not let myself get overwhelmed...trying to suck it up...however you want to put it. Things are trying and hard but it is an adjustment that will take time and hopefully get easier. I'm so thankful for all my girls. They are so fun and sweet!!! Olivia is doing very well and growing. Emma is trying to grow. She loves to eat but has a very hard time with that reflux. I guess when they have had a tube down their throat for so long, the muscle that closes off weakens and stops shutting off. So anything sends her into a puking mess. Even a burp. We might try a different medication this week. I'm hoping that will work. We'll see. Other than that she is doing well. She is on 3/16 of a liter of oxygen and is satting between 94-100. She is very alert and holds her head up. So does Olivia. They are both smiling at us. Emma went to the eye dr. last week and her right eye has fully matured. Yea!! Her left eye is almost there. We have another appointment in 2 weeks. Hopefully we can check that off our list then.
I went to church yesterday and it was good to see everyone and hear the message. Yet it was so hard to see how much I've missed and been disconnected since last March being on bedrest and at the hospital and now being at home with the girls. Mike and I are going to take turns each service going so that will help. We start the girls RSV shots this week.
We thought Alyssa broke her nose 2 days ago. She ran behind the truck where there was a board sticking out, hit it and it knocked her on her back in the driveway. She ended up with a bump on the back of her head and a massive bloody nose. It swelled up immediately. We knew if we took her to the ER they would just put an ice pack on it since they don't do much for broken noses. I expected black and blue eyes the next morning but didn't get much. We also found where she hit it underneath her nose. Wheww!! That could have been a lot worse. So we think it might not be broken after all.
I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped us through this time. The meals, the prayers, the encouragment, the support, babysitting....it has been the biggest blessing to us!!! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts. I know we could never repay anyone what you have given to us but we hope to give to others someday to give back. We love you very much!!!!! Thank you!!!!

Got a minute

I hope as we get more into a routine, I can blog more.
Things are definitely getting better here. Emma is adjusting and that is great!!! Her reflux seems to be getting better. She spit up very little yesterday and has not had any problems with this morning's bottles. Plus she is the one demanding the bottles. I haven't looked at my calendar yet to see what appointments we are having this week. I should probably look at that. I do so much better in general when I don't have to go anywhere.
Here are a couple of funnies....
Last week I just had a very rough day of appointments....lugging all the kids to the hospital, etc. Well, Mike met me there and when I left he suggested I go to Sonic and get some food for me and the kids. I really love Sonic! So that is what I did. I got Alyssa a corn dog, Loren a grilled cheese and myself a double cheesburger. Well, I walked in the door and Emma was starving so I had to feed her. So I asked Alyssa if she would give Loren her food. So she did. I got done feeding Emma and went over to eat my food. I looked on Loren's highchair and she had devoured all of my double cheeseburger except half of one patty!!!!! Are you kidding me??? I was so looking forward to that. Not only that but she was sitting there with one of her legs out propped up on her highchair just lounging. Yep, I had a couple bites of her cold, not so good, grilled cheese sandwich. Definitely a bummer!!! But funny to others.
I have to go check on Olivia. I'll write more when I can and I'll send pictures too. Hopefully next time!

Thank God!!!

Today was a long but good day at the hospital. We had a follow-up appointment with the NICU. It was good to see these familiar faces and to be able to ask questions to doctors that know Emma. What a relief!!
Last night I was concerned that Emma had a cold. She was having some trouble breathing. But when I bulb suringed out her nose I just got a lot of blood. Her nose has been bleeding from the nasal cannula. Her oxygen place was supposed to send us a water bottle last week to help humidify the air going into her. But it is Tuesday and still no water. Well I guess her nose has gotten a lot worse. She sneezed out a small "blood clot". I don't know else to call it. There is no mucus, just hard blood. Very frustrating!!! I have been putting in nasal saline gel and it helps a little but not much. As frustrating as it is, I was still glad to know that she wasn't sick. Her lungs sounded very good. Yea!!! She also weighed a whopping 7 lb. 10 oz. Go Emma!!! They were very pleased with her. The only thing they wanted me to do was to contact my insurance and pushing the RSV shot as soon as possible. So that will be my main priority tomorrow. They said they already have 20% in the hospital right now and if she were to get it, she would have to be admitted. Her little lungs just couldn't handle it right now.
Then we had an appointment with endocrinology. Bottom line...they are fine with her levels. He said they are not high enough to worry about them. He'll see us in 3 months but he is really not concerned. If he isn't, then I'm not. I have too much other stuff to fill my plate.
I gotta go...Olivia is needing me.
Thanks for the prayers!!!

Emma

We had a head sono last week and today was the consultation with the dr. He said that she does have some fluid buildup in her head but it is such a small amount that she shouldn't need a shunt. This would drain the fluid. This is good news. We'll be getting another head sono in 2 months to check it again. Developmentally, we'll just wait and see how things are. Her eye appointment showed improvement but they'll recheck it in two weeks. We have a kidney appointment tomorrow. I'm anxious to talk with the doctor about this. We have a urology appointment coming up too. Tomorrow we'll also meet with the NICU team for a follow-up appointment. I'm anxious to ask them questions. Mostly about their expectations for her. She is gaining weight but it is slow. That is my biggest question. How much should she be gaining with having her chronic lung disease and working to breathe? I'm also nervous knowing that they are probably sizing up whether I'm doing a good job of taking care of her. Oh the pressure...
I'm taking things one minute at a time. I'm probably a little short on the sleep and patience side. If this year doesn't age me, I don't know what will.
We'll just keep on keepin on.

One ounce!

She did put on one ounce and we'll take it!! So we have her until Monday. We'll be working solely on eating. There are other minor issues that I'm dealing with too that don't help the situation. She has had a lot of drainage in one ear for a week now. We've been doing drops but it is not completely cleared up yet. Also her nose is bleeding from the oxygen and the dry air and from her cannula rubbing it. So the oxygen care is bringing us a humidifier that will go on her machine. I also rubbed k-y in her nose with a q-tip and that helped a lot. And to top it off, she had 4 shots on Tuesday. But all in all, we are doing well and we hope to keep it up.

Please gain weight...

So tomorrow we take Emma in for a weight check. She has not puked since Tuesday afternoon so I'm hoping we have some weight put on. We NEED her to have put on at least 2 ounces. Mike is going with me. I just don't want to deal with tomorrow by myself. If she has not put on enough weight, they will want to admit her and start doing tests and talk about the g-tube surgery again. We are not wanting to go that route. We just figured out why she was puking. I hope we at least get more time. It didn't help that she had 4 shots on Tuesday. Please pray for us tomorrow. I don't know that I could handle her going back in the hospital. Plus it would mean going to the PICU where I would need to be with her at all times. It's different than the NICU. Not that I want her back there either.
These pictures are amazingly similar to our children. I think the 3 pictures of Mike look like Olivia, Loren and Alyssa at their current stages of life. I think the picture of my mom and her twin look just like Emma. Go Figure!
I hope you enjoy!

Two new thoughts...

We did not admit Emma into the hospital today and I'll tell you why. While Emma has been home the past two weeks she has not done as well as I'd hoped. Obviously her weight has not increased well. Her sats have come down a little but not a lot. She has had some episodes of desats and bradies. And here lately has been vomiting, usually following some gagging. The doctor called last night and suggested we admit her because he didn't know what was wrong. So we had the choice of taking her in last night or this morning. We decided to wait until the morning.
Well last night I gave her her meds by mouth like we had done in the hospital. She desatted and paled out. It scared me but she pulled out of it. That is what started my thinking process. Why are we giving her meds by mouth when she aspirates anything that is not thickened milk? Could she be aspirating her meds? Then I started thinking about her milk and could she be aspirating that too. Well, in the hospital they have these individual bottles of formula that they give at room temperature. They don't warm them up. Well, I have been warming up her bottles. I think by doing that, I'm thinning out her milk. So the combination of those two thoughts sent me on another mission.
I stopped warming her bottles and she was able to take all 2 oz. for once and not puke it up. She also woke me up to eat before my 3 hour alarm went off. I gave her meds in her milk so that helped that. She ended up eating 10 oz. during the night and didn't puke once. Praise God! I called the doctor and told him what I had discovered and asked if we could do a weight check on Friday and if she wasn't getting better by then, then we could admit her. He said that would be fine but if she pukes once, we need to admit her. I said no problem. I really believe that God gives you gut feelings and insight to what is going on. And it's always in the right timing. Crazy!!!
So hopefully she will take off and this will work. I'll tell you what...I know this girl better than she knows herself.
I'll keep you posted.

Admitting into the PICU...

We are going to be admitting Emma into the PICU tomorrow. Yes, it rips my heart out. I feel like a failure. She did not gain any weight the first week. The second week she only gained 2 1/2 lbs. She eats but turns around and yerps it up. I don't know if her reflux is worse. I don't know if it is because of her calcium levels being high. I don't know if it is her kidneys. I don't know if she has developed a thickening in the muscle below the stomach that is not allowing food to pass through. So they feel it is best to admit her and run some tests. I'm beyond discouraged. This is the last thing we want to do but we also want her to be well. So just please keep us in your prayers.
The good news is that she had a brain scan today and her hemmorages are resolved. I also asked if they would go ahead and do her hip scan (it was supposed to be next week) and they did and her hips are fine. She got her vaccines today also.
I'm going to go now. It's probably going to be a hard night. We will be on the 1st floor of the hospital in the PICU. I'll keep updating as we go along.

I just LOVE my girls!!!!

I just REALLY love my girls!! I love their different personalities and quirks. I love who they are and getting to know them. They are each so special to me in different ways. Alyssa finds joy in so much. She is very inventive. Today she made a kite out of paper and a paper plate. My heart broke when she went outside to fly it and it wouldn't. But she still took it down to the park tonight with Mike hoping it would work down there. She likes to make tents and she will work on it for hours, perfecting it to the inth detail. Of course, she gets very upset if Loren even moves it an inch. Then she tells Loren that she is not going to be her sister anymore. She says "I'm just going to be mad right now". Today she said that she wasn't going to let Loren stay in her room ever again. (Funny since they share a room). She said Loren will have to sleep with us from now on in our room. Despite the little disputes, they love each other and tickle each other and play hours on end. I didn't think they would play so much since they are 3 1/2 years apart. But they do and I love it. I've been trying to explain to Alyssa what twins are and how her sisters are twins. She said, Yes, and Claire (her cousin) and her are twins because they have the same jacket. Again...cute!
Loren is at that stage where she is happy 99% of the time and always glad to see you. I love that!!! She wants to talk so badly and she understands so much but just isn't quite there yet. And I'm o.k. with that. : ) She is my climber and tornado. Yes, we started using the straps on the high chair. The other day I found her with windex. Yes, she squirted it in her mouth but thankfully it ran down her mouth and she didn't swallow it. At least, enough to hurt her. It covered her shirt though. Then she found a battery and started to suck on it. I got it in time. Wheww!!! She likes electric outlets. Lovely!! I would say she is her cousin Andrew's match. She is really going to do me in. She gives kisses and they are great! She makes the mooa sound.
Emma is incredibly sweet and loves to be cuddled. I love her little bald head. She is my first baby without hair and my first baby that has some rolls on her thighs. Love it! I love that she is a fighter and she lets you know when she is not happy. I'm so glad she is in our lives and has won the battle time and time again. Everything we have been through was so worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat. She has beaten the odds and will continue to do so.
Olivia is a sweetheart too. She is my youngest although she doesn't look it. She is more calm and mellow although today I caught her with Emma's oxygen tube in her hand pulling on it. I was like let's not start this already. She has really taken off and is becoming more and more strong every day. She likes to cuddle too and I'm thankful for that.
It is so great having everyone together. We are slowly but surely adjusting. I know it will get easier with time, at least medically. I'm just glad they are all alive and full of spirit. I treasure each moment with them and I hope they will always know how much we love them and how much gray hair they gave us. Hee hee!

Emma has a head sono and a weight check on Tuesday. Please pray that she puts on weight. She is doing well eating but I want the scale to reflect that. I'm going to ask if they could just go ahead and do her kidney and hip sono while I'm there doing the head sono. That would definitely save me some time and energy. Emma, Olivia and Loren have shots on Tuesday. That should be fun. I'm allowed to go early to try to avoid the big crowd for germs sake. We also have an appointment on Wednesday for her eyes. Please pray that they are better, even completely matured would be nice. I'm feeling stronger. I still have my ups and downs but I know we can make it through all this. We have come so far I have to hope that it will get easier.

One last comment...I went to the Miracle Walk for Small Wonders at the Riverplex. It was great to see the nurses and doctors. I didn't take the twins for germs sake but I did take Alyssa and Loren. There were a bunch of people there that brought their kids that had been in the NICU and were doing well. It is great for the nurses and doctors to see these kids grow and succeed. I met this mother of triplet girls (Loren's age). We got to talking and she pointed to Loren and said is that yours? I said yes. And she said you have twins? I said yes, they are 4 1/2 months old. She was like How do you do it? I said you are the mother of TRIPLETS, that is amazing. She said no all mine are the same age and going through the same stuff. She didn't know how I did it with Loren and the twins. So I guess I know my situation is a little crazy when a mother of triplets asks me how I do it. Seriously!! CRAZY!!!
Well, I'm staying up late tonight to get some stuff done around the house. I know that is crazy but it's the only time I'm not feeding these people and changing diapers, etc. So I'm picking up when no one is following me around undoing everything that I do.
Thank you all for walking with me through the hard times. I know it's tough and most people say they don't know what to say. And that is o.k. Sometimes that is the best thing to say to people in these situations. It's like Hey, I care enough to say that I don't know what to say but I'm here for you anyway. Most of the time I don't know what to say either. Imagine that! Hee hee!
Well, I'm seriously getting off this computer now. It's 12:45 a.m.
Love to you all!
Bethany

Attempt at pictures...

It looks like Emma is gaining a little weight. Let's all keep our fingers crossed. It is just going to be tricky with her home. Getting labs drawn and keeping on top of her high calcium levels. A lot of her levels were high...carbon dioxide, calcium, potassium, BUM, creatinum, etc. So they are trying to get her into the endocrynologist as soon as possible. I'm charting all her eating times and how much she takes. I'm also charting any alarms and any puking. She didn't puke at all today. According to the home nurse, she gained 2 oz. in 2 days so it looks like we might be on the up. I spoke with the nurse practioner in the NICU and she said it will take time for her to adjust too. I think she is doing better. I think the ear drops are helping her too to sleep and eat.
O.K. these pictures are my sad and lame attempt to get a picture of all my girls. As you can see, I need HELP!!! : ) This is why we leave it to the professionals. I just don't know if I want to expose them to the public to get these done. Bummer!
I hope you enjoy them.
So here are a couple funnies....
I found out that Loren thinks you can put toys in the toilet. I found a toy lemon and loaf of bread from Alyssa's kitchen set in the toilet. Lovely!!
Alyssa and Mom were playing restaurant the other day and Alyssa asked if mom wanted spaghetti. She said yes. Then she asked if she wanted a margaritta. Mom said "where did you hear that?" She said "From North Avenue Irregulars". This is an old movie that is almost as clean as little house on the prairie. It is one of my mom's favorite movies. Pretty funny that she learned that from mom!!!
I was talking to mom about a guy I saw on t.v. (I can't remember who it was) but Alyssa pipes up and says "You mean Rock Obama?" How cute is that? It just goes to show how much they pick up. She is so smart. She remembers a lot of big names that I'm amazed by. She has been asking if we can go to MI to go to the Pere Marquette. It's a little park we go to down by the boardwalk. She just remembers things that she might have only heard once.
Loren is cutting her 4 canines. Two are through and the other two are trying. So my nights consist of waking up, feeding one twin, then the other, then getting Loren and trying to console her. I would give anything for some sleep!!!! Things are going better at night though.
Well, I'm exhausted (imagine that) so I'm off to bed. If I can bathe my children and myself and manage to feed everyone - including myself - I've had a very successful day!!! : )